TY - JOUR TI - Gaps in global wildlife trade monitoring leave amphibians vulnerable AU - Hughes, Alice C AU - Marshall, Benjamin Michael AU - Strine, Colin T A2 - Donoso, David A2 - Perry, George H A2 - Auliya, Mark VL - 10 PY - 2021 DA - 2021/08/12 SP - e70086 C1 - eLife 2021;10:e70086 DO - 10.7554/eLife.70086 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.70086 AB - As the biodiversity crisis continues, we must redouble efforts to understand and curb pressures pushing species closer to extinction. One major driver is the unsustainable trade of wildlife. Trade in internationally regulated species gains the most research attention, but this only accounts for a minority of traded species and we risk failing to appreciate the scale and impacts of unregulated legal trade. Despite being legal, trade puts pressure on wild species via direct collection, introduced pathogens, and invasive species. Smaller species-rich vertebrates, such as reptiles, fish, and amphibians, may be particularly vulnerable to trading because of gaps in regulations, small distributions, and demand of novel species. Here, we combine data from five sources: online web searches in six languages, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) trade database, Law Enforcement Management Information System (LEMIS) trade inventory, IUCN assessments, and a recent literature review, to characterise the global trade in amphibians, and also map use by purpose including meat, pets, medicinal, and for research. We show that 1215 species are being traded (17% of amphibian species), almost three times previous recorded numbers, 345 are threatened, and 100 Data Deficient or unassessed. Traded species origin hotspots include South America, China, and Central Africa; sources indicate 42% of amphibians are taken from the wild. Newly described species can be rapidly traded (mean time lag of 6.5 years), including threatened and unassessed species. The scale and limited regulation of the amphibian trade, paired with the triptych of connected pressures (collection, pathogens, invasive species), warrants a re-examination of the wildlife trade status quo, application of the precautionary principle in regard to wildlife trade, and a renewed push to achieve global biodiversity goals. KW - CITES KW - LEMIS KW - online trade KW - endangered species KW - regulation KW - wildlife trade JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -